With "southern countries" you mean Italy or Greece, for instance. I know, I know - you are right and I wonder why you're downvoted because what you say is not s

With "southern countries" you mean Italy or Greece, for instance. I know, I know - you are right and I wonder why you're downvoted because what you say is not silly nor offensive. However, there the labour laws are in fact more rigid than in the "socialist" North European welfare states which have, in many ways, more of a market economy. For instance, the policymakers in Mediterranean countries have wanted to discourage laying off employees by increasing the burden to employers about laid-off staff: you have to pay a year's salary or more to a permanent employee who is laid off. And, in the end not very surprisingly, particularly the youth unemployment is exceptionally high in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. What is stupid that in North Europe, the unions, such as Finland's SAK, want to have the same as in Italy. I guess there is no other plausible explanation than populism and short-term power grab by politicians who don't really care what their policies actually mean with all their side effects.